Car News

Ford Mondeo to live on… as a crossover SUV

European Ford dealer documents show key parts for the new Mondeo indicate that the model will grow into an SUV.

FORD EUROPE HAS jumped the gun on details for its fifth-generation Mondeo, publishing a dealer bulletin containing technical information about the new model.

Found by UK outlet Autocar, the document reveals parts pertaining to the rear suspension assembly of the “2022 model year Mondeo CD542,” showing that its independent coil spring suspension setup which has been used for all four generations of the sedan and wagon will be replaced with a leaf spring setup.

The news is odd given Ford does not produce a leaf-sprung passenger vehicle, strongly suggesting that the Mondeo will turn into a crossover SUV. This is supported by earlier spy photos showing a test mule on raised suspension.

It also makes sense given the model’s waning sales as buyers favour SUVs.

The transverse leaf spring suspension setup will also liberate room underneath the rear cargo floor, which will provide ample room for a battery capacity of around 13kWh to suit a plug-in hybrid application. Likely the same sort of setup that will arrive in the Ford Escape PHEV in Australia. That’ll be good for around 50km electric driving range when fully charged via a wall socket or fast charger.

Timing for the model has not been discussed by any Ford officials yet, but the tooling catalogue revealed in the report indicated to dealers that it will be available from mid-2021.

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Alex Rae

Alex Rae